


Good Practice

by choiminki



Category: NU'EST
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-11
Updated: 2018-02-11
Packaged: 2019-03-16 21:14:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13644573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/choiminki/pseuds/choiminki
Summary: Minki's afraid of babies.





	Good Practice

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the Letters from Angels shoot they did a few months back. Unbeta'd.

Everyone was cooing at the baby as he bounced on Baekho’s knee. Baby Jiwoon was the star model of the day and as soon as they laid their eyes on him, NU’EST W were immediately smitten with the chubby toddler.

With arms folded tightly across his chest, Ren reviewed the photos taken through the monitor and secretly prayed nobody would notice. Ren’s eyes shifted left and right from the monitor to the photographer before slowly backing away, in fear that he would draw attention to himself by staying there too long.

He spun on his heels and quickly walked away, tripping on the lamp wires on the floor. He lost his balance but before a disaster could occur, a strong grip caught his arm and saved Ren from embarrassment. It was none other than JR.

“What are you so on edge about?” he questioned, eyeing his boyfriend curiously.

Ren had been jittery since this morning but whenever any of them asked if anything was wrong, he would roll his eyes and deny it.

Ren looked at JR uncomfortably, not exactly meeting his eyes. He knew he couldn’t lie his way out of this one, JR had already asked thrice in the morning and once again in the van. Did his fidgeting give him away?

“I’veneverheldababybefore” Ren blurted out quickly.

Luckily for Ren, his voice was drowned out by the sound of the photographer’s voice, directing all the members to regroup and resume the shoot. Ren immediately shot out of JR’s grasp to stand in front of the cameras, successfully avoiding further questioning. JR rubs the back of his neck, clearly frustrated. He had vaguely heard a few words but could not put it together to make a proper sentence. It would have to wait, he thought to himself, making a mental note to interrogate his boyfriend later.

During the short break, Baekho had refused to let anyone else hold Jiwoon, attached to his newfound love. He doted on the cutie with countless of kisses and snuggles, the joy evident on his face as he watches Jiwoon giggle happily in his arms. He only relented when the photographer requested for Aron to switch roles with Baekho to pose with Jiwoon in the centre. Baekho passed the tiny being over to Aron reluctantly and Aron cradled Jiwoon preciously against his chest, and the people behind the camera couldn’t help but melt at the sight.

JR enthusiastically volunteered to hold him next. Ren glanced at the clock. It was still early before their next schedule. He forced himself to accept the inevitable, today was the day. There was no escape.

Just to clarify, Ren wasn’t scared of babies.  
He was terrified.

In the past, he effortlessly avoided situations where he would have to hold one and you know, not drop it. (Yes, _it._ ) His aversion to holding toddlers did not affect their cuteness and although Ren found Jiwoon adorable as much as the rest of the members did, he was determined to steer clear of carrying him. He was too terrified of ~~it~~ ~~him~~ babies. They were so fragile! Ren doesn’t even trust himself to walk through the glassware aisle in IKEA, much less to hold a tiny human. 20 years of his life, Ren had trained diligently to become a master in the art of escaping and coming up with excuses but how would he slither his way out of this one while still retaining his professional image?

God was on his side it seems.

Jonghyun felt a slight wetness as his shirt began to stick to his chest. Baby Jiwoon had peed on Jonghyun’s white dress shirt, staining it. There were no spares prepared thus concluding the shoot. While the photographer apologised to Ren as there weren’t any pictures of him and Jiwoon, Ren pretended to be disappointed and nodded his head in understanding, secretly relieved.

It took everything Ren had to not pump his fist in triumph, he had survived another day. With how big his smile was, you’d think Ren had won the lottery. Since they were forced to conclude the shoot early, the crew had a lot of time to kill so the boys, (excluding Ren) got busy with showering the chubby infant with love and affection. After Jonghyun changed to his casual clothing, he returned to the waiting room where Aron and Baekho were at one side of the sofa, giving their undivided attention to the adorable Jiwoon while Ren had already changed and sat on the other side, focusing on his phone unphased and indifferent to the ball of cuteness sitting on Baekho’s lap.

Like pieces of a puzzle falling into place, he strung together the words he heard from Ren’s earlier confession. He was afraid of babies. At this revelation, he decided that he was going to help Ren overcome this fear once and for all.

He calls Baekho and Aron aside, far enough from Ren and explained the situation and his plan. They agreed to help enthusiastically, little Jiwoon who was in Baekho’s arms, babbled in blind agreement too.

Walking towards the couch, Aron began his act. “So Ren..” Aron trailed off, “did you see Lady Gaga’s performance last night?”

It was common knowledge that Ren went off if someone asked him about Lady Gaga. He probably wouldn’t even notice if the sky was falling, the end of the world not being a good enough reason to disrupt him from professing his undying love for his idol.

The sudden mention of his favourite idol heightened Ren’s already good mood. He put his phone aside and eagerly, he elaborated on his opinions of last night’s performance to Aron. Baekho gave something to him while they were talking and Ren was too preoccupied to comprehend what he was given. Refusing to be interrupted, he accepted whatever Baekho passed to him and continued chatting with Aron.

Until Ren realised the thing had fingers.

He froze.

He was holding the baby.

Ren gapes at Jonghyun, who took a seat beside him, unsure of what he was supposed to do next. Panicky and unconfident, he tries to hand the baby over to Jonghyun but to no avail. His boyfriend as well as Baekho and Aron were grinning, obviously proud of their trivial success. Ren could not relate however as he desperately tries to balance between hyperventilating and not dropping the baby. In the midst of Ren’s internal chaos, Jiwoon’s tiny fingers wrap themselves around Ren’s index finger. He’s stops, the baby’s touch calming him as if to say “You’re doing fine.” Ren instinctively caresses his fingers with his thumb. So soft, he thought, a warm feeling pooling in the pit of his stomach. He was starting to understand the fascination of holding a child.

The position was starting to feel uncomfortable for Ren so with Baekho’s help, he holds Jiwoon by the armpits, hoisting him up to sit him facing Ren’s chest. The toddler nuzzles into Ren’s satin shirt, his fingers grabbing onto the fabric while his short limbs cling onto Ren. His little hands settle on Ren’s shoulders. It was heartwarming to see Ren gently lull the toddler to sleep by patting him softly on the back. Jiwoon tries his hardest to stay awake but in the end, gives in and falls asleep in Ren’s arms.

Baekho and Aron whip their phones out to capture the moment and Jonghyun stretches his arm around Ren’s shoulders. They both smile brightly at the camera,. He asks Aron to send them to him later. They take a million group selcas to send to Minhyun and are instantly bombarded with ㅠㅠ ‘s and KAKAO stickers. Notifications of Minhyun’s constant spamming went unheeded as they continued taking pictures of the sleeping baby, cherishing their time with him before his foster mother arrives. They knew that it would be a long time until they got to meet again and they hoped that the next time they do, little Jiwoon would be adopted by a loving family.  
When it was time for Jiwoon to go home, the group heartbreakingly says goodbye to their self-proclaimed son with another round of kisses and snuggles, Jiwoon had to be practically pried from Ren’s arms. After their goodbye’s, Aron and Baekho leave to return their clothes to the wardrobe department and change, leaving Jonghyun and Ren alone in the waiting room.  
.  
“That... wasn’t so bad. I don’t think I’m that afraid of them anymore.” Ren mumbles.

“I’m glad I could help.”Jonghyun’s warm eyes meet Ren’s and he smiles. Ren nudges him playfully. Ren reaches for his phone so they could look through the photos together. He leaned on Jonghyun’s shoulders as they scrolled through his Camera Roll. He pauses when he reaches the photo of just him, Jonghyun and Jiwoon, it looks like a family portrait, with Jonghyun posing as his spouse and Jiwoon, their child. Ren admires that particular photo for a long time, fantasizing their future together.

“It would be nice if we had our own family one day.” he says dreamily.

Jonghyun felt the butterflies go crazy in his stomach, his ears turning pink at the notion of starting a family with Ren. Every person in a relationship dreams of marrying their lover but given their society, he never gave too much thought to it, in fear of ruining a perfect fantasy. Hearing Ren mention the possibility for the first time, he gets a little emotional and Jonghyun just feels so loved.

His hand reaches for Ren’s cheek and stays there, his thumb caressing his soft skin. Ren leans into Jonghyun’s touch and closes his eyes, contented. _Beautiful_ , Jonghyun thinks to himself. Overwhelmed, Jonghyun bends down to kiss Ren. He kisses back and the world falls away from all around them. Warmth spreads throughout Jonghyun's body, a sensation only Ren’s kisses could provide. He is saturated with Ren’s love and he knows he’ll never get enough, even if he kisses him a million, billion times, he’ll always be unsatisfied, wanting more and more, wanting Ren’s everything. As though he could read his thoughts, Ren kisses Jonghyun back harder – _I’ll give you everything._

He pushes Ren backward, pinning him on the couch. They’re panting heavily and Jonghyun’s jacket hung off his shoulders, Ren’s top buttons unfastened. Ren slips his tongue into Jonghyun’s mouth and Jonghyun wraps Ren’s legs around his waist, pulling him closer to him. As they part from the kiss to breathe, they stare at each other, wanting nothing more than to just take each other then and there.

A knock on the door breaks their reverie and they frantically break apart, clothes in disarray, Jonghyun’s cheeks tinted pink, Ren’s lips were red and slightly puffy. A head peeks from behind the door, it’s just Baekho with a smug expression plastered on his face.

“I knew you jerks couldn’t keep it in your pants for more than 10 minutes. Anyways, the van will be here soon. We’ll be waiting out front. Could you collect the polaroids from Yerin?”

“Y-Yeah, sure.”

The door closes and they exhale a loud breath they didn’t even realise they were holding. They straighten their clothes and Jonghyun helps Ren button his shirt.

“I hope we’ll have more shoots like this, with kids. You look really cute when you hold them. A baby holding another baby.” he says, beaming his signature smile.

As he fastens the last button, he pulls Ren closer by the collar, his sweet innocent personality pulling a 180 degree turn.

“Besides,” Jonghyun says seductively, “... it makes good practice” and bites Ren’s ear before walking away with a smirk.


End file.
